the next generation
by RandomChickInYourBushs
Summary: Nala hathaway has always lived in her parents shadow. but her life is not at all easy. she's in love with the forbidden dragomir prince. she is a dhampir\dhampir child, with the need to drink blood. oh and a brother who was stolen and raised by strigoi
1. Chapter 1

hay people! yay! finally i write a VA fic! haha well i have a warning, allot of things are based on memory so if i have any mistake it would be awesome if you pointed it out to me. reviews make me feel special and give me encourages to write. so i would be more than happy to see some. Nala means lioness, i know. but i DON'T know in what language but i don't think it's Russian. lolz. so anyway, enjoy.

Rose stared down at the crying infant in her hands. Her forehead was smeared with sweat and her face was red and weary looking. Her body ached and burned with leftover pain, though the newly made mother didn't seem to care. She stared down at the blue bundle that was her baby boy, her face a mask of awe and bewilderment. How could something so tiny, so defenseless and naïve, hold the entire world at his little finger? Well, half the world. The other half belonged to the petite pink bundle that rested in her husbands' strong arms. She gazed upon him and her daughter, and a single tear fell down her cheek. Rosemarie Hathaway was known to do the impossible. And impossible included giving birth to twins from her husband who happened to be a dhampire. Genetically speaking it was impossible. But rose has proved yet again, that nothing, and no one, can keep her from her hearts' desires.

The baby opened his mouth, his nose scrunched up and his eyes closed, and began to cry. Rose jumped a little, surprised by the sound of his wailing voice, strong and firm, yet soft, and fragile. Her heart soared for the child, and she rocked him back and forth in her arms, humming some distant melody. The baby's eyes closed shut as she lulled him into sleep. Dimitri set his daughter to sleep in the hospital crib and went to wrap his arm around his wife's shoulders. She smiled up at him and handed their son to him.

He set their son next to his sister and went back to rose. He cupped her cheek and kissed her lips. "You did amazing today Roza. I love you so much."

Rose smiles tiredly against his lips and run her hand on the back of his neck. "So did you." She said, pulling away for a breath. "No man I know would have survived that birth. I have to give you some credit."

Dimitri chuckled and kicked off his shoes. He hopped up and into the bed with ease and when he found Rose under the covers he hugged her to his chest lovingly.

"so how are we going to call them?" asked Dimitri. Rose bit her lip as she thought about the names she had considered. Nothing seemed fit; nothing seemed to match, to feel right. She thought about her family, and her friends, and suddenly an idea popped into her head.

"How about Nicolai?" she asked. In her mind, his image swirled. She'd met Nicolai countless times after Russia, and his image and personality, that of a strong warrior that had a great heart, loyalty for his people and protecting of those who he loved. "Yes" she said, nodding to herself. "Definitely Nicolai"

Dimitri seemed to understand what was going on inside her head and smiled at her. "I think that the greatest choice you could have thought. And for our daughter-" he said that word with such affection, such intensity that Rose felt her heart give a painful tug in her chest. Our daughter, He had said. our, for them both to share. Something, no, someone, that was created by pure love and hope. "How about Nala?" he asked suddenly.

Rose lifted her eyebrow, well, attempted to at least, and asked "Nala?" Dimitri smiled and nodded. "It means lioness. Fierce and wild, Like you." His eyes twinkled with adoration as he gazed at her face steadily.

"Nala." Rose muttered to herself. "It's perfect." She said beaming.

He smiled and tucked a piece of her long hair behind her ear. "Sleep, Roza. You need to rest. You've done enough for today." But she rolled her eyes. "I did not spend nine months of not protecting Lissa and looking like a watermelon so I couldn't get SOME reward after it" she huffed, half annoyed and half joking. He laughed and tightened his grip on her waist. His lips found hers as they always did and she felt her blood burn in her vines and that tingling sensation that his skin always brought. He pulled away to catch his breath and looked at her pointedly.

A nurse walked in and skidded to a halt at the scene before her. "I-i-I'm sorry to disturbed you. But the babies need to be in the nursery to be checked and redid for sleep"

Rose nodded and got up slowly, winching at the pain that shot through her body. 'Pain killers my ass' she thought. She walked over to the sleeping twins and kissed each of their foreheads tenderly before handing the crib to the nurse. When the nurse was gone she sighed and went back into the hospital bed to cuddle with Dimitri.

She groaned and fake glared. "Fine, I'll go to sleep. But you're staying with me." She lowered herself to the pillow and turned her back to him, allowing him to wrap his arms around her waist and curve his body against hers. His hand sneaked under her head and they both fell asleep in a matter of seconds.

Back at the nursery, the two nurses changed the babies into comfortable cloths and changed their diapers. They made small talk and found something to discuss here and there but between that their focus was on the two babies that slept soundly on the changing table.

"Heavy sleepers, these two." One of them said to the other, fastening the diaper.

The other chuckled and scooped up the girl. "I'm going to take her to doctor Brown. I don't like the way she's breathing." She looked worriedly at the girl, whose breaths came out in little huffs of air and walked swiftly out of the room, the door closing softly behind her. The other nodded and set the boy in a crib by the other sleeping infants.

She turned to a weeping girl, a few days old at the most, on the other side of the room.

The door opened silently, and a figure stepped in. he walked like a ghost up to the now named, Nicolai and gazed down on him. The nurse was having trouble calming the howling child down and was slowly rocking her back and forth with her back to the stranger.

The man smiled, revealing a row of perfectly white teeth, with two long and pointed fangs sticking out of the perfection. His blood red eyes focused on the baby and he lifted him up from the crib to eye level. "Yes" he whispered. "You're the one I'm here for."

He checked the tag again, confirming that the baby he was sent to bring, Nicolai Hathaway really was this infant. When he was sure, he his opened coat and cautiously put the baby inside. With one hand he held the baby inside his jacket and with the other he smashed the window, allowing him to fade into the night as if he was never there.

The only proof that he was there, was the blood curling scream of the nurse that stepped inside with little Nala nestled between her arms.


	2. Chapter 2

Raymond's blood boiled in his vines and his teeth grinded against each other. His hands balled up into tight fists and he hissed with anger.

Though Dalen didn't seem to care that much. He stared unblinking into Raymond's eyes, showing him that he wasn't intimidated.

"you can't keep him here" Raymond hissed, his eyes narrowed and glowed an angry blood red. "Don't you see how utterly pathetic this is? You and your mate are playing house with a dhampir, and a newborn one no less! We both know you don't have the least moroi drop in your blood. What gives?" He roared.

"im not playing house" Dalen spat out at Raymond. His voice leaked of venom and his mouth twisted into a a pissed of snarl. "have you forgotten who that baby is?"

"I DON'T CARE WHO HE IS!" Raymond said, fuming.

Dalen grinded his teeth yet again and glared at his hot headed comrade. "Nicolai Hathaway" he said, his voice dangerously calm. "can just might be the answer to our problems. A secret weapon and a strong one at that." He took a ragged breath to tame his temper and continued. "Belikov is his father and his mother is Hathaway, he is bound to become the ultimate warrior. And now that he's with us, that power is in our hands. Our forces are gathering for one last hit to victory. And he may be our ticket to success."

"Fine" hissed Raymond, teeth locked together. "But if I find him running anywhere NEAR me…" he left the threat unfinished.

Dalen watched him stalk away and grinded his teeth together.

Now that that was settled, time to make the kid worth the trouble.

####

Nicolai wasn't your average five year old. No, he knew how to walk and talk just like any other kid, but what made him special were his reflexes. Have you ever seen a five year old that can pin a full grown up to the floor? Probably not.

He's braver than most, at least, that's what everyone says.

And every one was of course Dalen and Amy. He went everywhere with them, did everything they did. He already went on several hunting trips with them, watched them feed on human AND moroi.

The looks on their faces, those weak expressions repelled him. He pitied the weak. Their faces fallowed him in his mind, hunting him with their images. Although he didn't swear to ever be weak only until that day….

_FLASH BACK _

_Nicolai peeped from across the hall at the door. It hadn't changed, dark wooden door with a silver knob. How he wished he could turn that knob, his whole body ached with the need to finally know what's behind that door. _

_His ears didn't pick up any noise, only silence. He knew the house was empty since the grownups were out hunting._

_He took a deep breath and wobbled down the hall. The silence pounded loud in his ears and his breathing became shallow. _

_His palms sweated when he gripped the cold metal of the handle. It was polished to perfection and its gleaming surface reflected his little face._

_His hands trembled as he twisted the knob, his eyes darted left and right, afraid that someone might catch him._

_The door cracked open slowly and he walked in with shaky legs. _

_Though he didn't manage to take two steps inside when a hand shot out from behind him and grabbed his shoulder. He whimpered and truned around slowly, only to meet a pair of red eyes that seemed to shoot daggers at him. _

_Raymond glared down at the child and snarled. "What. Do. You. Think. You're. Doing. Here"_

_ Nicolai cringed and shuddered. Dalen had drilled the fact that he needed to avoid Raymond like fire from when he was just a mumbling toddler. Over and over again he was told this until it settled in his head. Raymond was to be avoided. Period. His limbs were frozen in shock yet his mind screamed 'GET OUT! GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN!'_

_Raymond inhaled deeply and started to lean forward, his lips curled upward, exposing needle sharp fangs and perfectly white teeth. "I warned him" he whispered._

_Nicolai sensed danger and twisted and wriggled roughly against Raymond's iron grip. Raymond's face was inches away from nicolai's neck when the door suddenly swung open. _

_Dalen stood breathlessly at the door, seeming to have a hard time catching his breath. "Dhampires" he breathed. _

_Raymond cursed under his breath tossed Nicolai to the side and jumped out the window. _

_Nicolai's eyes were wide with fear and shudders rocked his frame. "D-d-d-dhampires?" he slurred. Yes, we was afraid of Raymond vary much and his encounter with him left him shocked and terrified, but dhampires were his nightmares come true. Just hearing their name made him want to curl up on the floor and hug his knees to his body._

_Dalen didn't seem to take much notice to the child's question, he just advanced slowly towards him with a stony expression. _

_"what did I tell you?" he asked calmly, taking another step towards the frozen Nicolai. _

_Nicolai was surprised to say the least. Why wasn't Damon running? Didn't the dhampires bother him? "What?" he asked, voicing his confusion._

_"WHAT DID I TELL YOU?" Damon suddenly roared. He grabbed Nicolai's shoulders and shook him so wildly that he was seeing tiny black dots. _

_"I told you to STAY AWAY FROM RAYMOND! AND WHAT DID YOU DO? NOTHING! YOU DISOBAYED MY ORDER AND DID WHATEVER YOU THOUGHT WAS RIGHT!" he boomed. _

_Nicolai's eyes went wide as satellites and he opened his mouth to answer but Dales hand came flying towards him before he could. His palm was very big and the red mark it left in the poor little boy took half of his face. "don't you dare answer me." Dalen said calmly, as if the slap never happened." What you did was unacceptable." He hissed. "Next time I won't come to your rescue. As long as you live under MY rules, you obey MY orders, because you are MY responsibility." And with those last words Dalen stalked out the door. _

_Nicolai stood in the middle of the dark room staring blankly and the door. A lone tear slid down his face. And then another, and another. Sobs rocked his little body and he slid down to the floor and hugged his knees to his chest tightly. _

_Never again will he be weak. Never again will he miss lack the ability to protect himself. Never again will he not fight back. Never again. _

_Never again. _

####

Nala balanced the backpack on her shoulders and walked slowly towards the kindergarten's gate.

Her best friend Rosalie skipped by her side, blond curls bouncing and big blue eyes staring excitedly at the gates.

Nala always dreaded this part of the day; it seemed to happen every time, over and over again. She stepped hesitantly into the building and Rosa skipped in after her.

As always, the kindergartner, Miss Harris, came running to them.

"Oh!" she said laughing as she embraced the two girls. "How are you sweetheart?" Nala mentally sighed. 'Here we go' she thought.

Rosalie grinned, oblivious to her friend's depression. "We're doing very good Miss Harris!' she said with perfect manners."Well, that's very good then honey." Her eyes were only on Rosalie, not even paying attention to Nala's existence.

Nala knew she could have died there and then and Miss Harris wouldn't have even cared.

She glanced at Rosalie and frowned at the corners of her mouth. Not that Nala had anything against Rosa; she loved her like the sister she always wanted.

But somewhere along the way, her friend being the queen's daughter outshined her in a way Nala would never admit. No matter where they went, it was always the same thing.

How was the queen's little angel? Oh wasn't she sweet. Look! It's little Rosalie, the whole moroi society's daughter. And Nala was always lefty in the shadows of Rosalie's fame.

It's not that she minded. She didn't at all. It's not like she didn't get attention, boy did she ever.

But it was a totally different type of attention. While people looked up at Rosalie as a little angel, Nala was looked at like an outcast, like a mistake of nature. She was the only dhampire\ dhampire child to ever live, and people had not come to except her.

She was the saint's freak friend. The dirt under Rosalie's golden shoe if you will.

But she never cared, because she had her best friend and her family behind her back.

And that the moment, that was all she needed.


End file.
